Flower shipping case



Dec. 1, 1953 M. u. MORRIS FLOWER SHIPPING CASE Filed Jan. 31, 1951 INVENTOQ. MEQcHANTuMoQms BY-W Q m ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 1, 1953 UITED. STATE V TENT OFFICE This invention relates to a device for encasing the heads of flower blooms either singly as in the case of chrysanthemums, or selectively as in a. bunch of sweet peas, and the like.

It has been exceedingly difiicult to transport and hold flowers in any quantity without causing those flowers to become bruised to such an extent that discoloration of the petals sets in to the detriment of the appearance of the bloom, resulting in a complete loss or a sale at a much reduced price. The problem is to keep these individual blooms or groups of blooms out of contact one with the other so as to prevent this damaging thereof.

The enclosing case must be of sufficient size and strength to enclose the blooms properly, yet the case must be made at a very low cost in order to keep down the cost of its use to a minimum without having to increase the cost of the sales of the blooms. In fact by use of the case embodying the present invention, there should be no increase in cost of its use because its use will off-set the loss heretofore occasioned.

Therefore the primary advantages of the invention reside in the low cost of manufacturing and use of the case; its extreme lightness permitting no great increase in cost of shipment due to extra weight; in the extreme simplicity of operation of the device in applying the case to the blooms; and in the over-all security to be gained by insuring the maintenance of separation between the blooms.

These and many other objects and advantages of the invention will become in the following description of one particular form as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a View in side elevation and partial section of a structure embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale in transverse section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

The case is formed by taking two substantially semi-cylindrical sections It and Ii of any suitable material and joining them together longitudinally by means of a hinge of any type which may be produced at a low cost, and yet which will securely retain the sections til and II one edge in substantial abutment with the other edge.

In the present showing, this hinge constitutes a flexible tape 12 which is laid across the juncture of the two end portions l3 and M of the sections IE] and H, and the tape I2 is caused to adhere in any well known manner to the outer sides of the sections I!) and H adjacent those 1 Claim. (Cl. 22987) ends or edges 53 and i A fabric tape is very suitable for this purpose, particularly such a tape which has a coating of adhesive between the tape and the section surfaces.

The ends of the sections ii] and ii are turned downwardly to have integral parallel lips 55 and It. On the inside faces of these lips 15 and it, there is secured by any suitable means such as by an adhesive at least one layer in each instance of a resilient material such as sponge rubber I? and 18 respectively. p

The two sections it and II are maintained in their closed relationship as indicated in Fig. 2, by means of a plurality of spring clips !9, herein shown as three in number. Each of these clips I9 is generally U-shaped with out-turned free ends 29 and 2| to facilitate the entrance of the lips l5 and 15 between those ends to permit the clip I9 in each instance to be seated up thereover, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Assuming that the shipping case is to be used for a bloom such as a chrysanthemum 22, Fig. 1, the sections It and Ii are opened to have the section It] for example resting on a bench with the section II thrown backwardly therefrom. The bloom 22 is then laid within the section It! to have the stem 23 extend across the rubber cushion I1, and then the next bloom 2G is likewise positioned in the section iii. The section I I is then pulled around and down over the bloom or blooms as the case may be to bring the other rubber cushion I8 down on top of the stems 23 and 25, and then the clips it are engaged over the lips 15 and it to hold them compressibly together with the stems being embedded in those cushions whereby the blooms are then held firmly against displacement in respect to their heads Within the sections It and ii. It is to be noted that the ends of the sections are left open.

The two sections ill and Ii when closed form in effect an elongated cylinder and the blooms 22 and. 24 may be spaced therealong so as to be out of substantial contact or complete contact as the case may warrant, depending upon the nature of the bloom. In any event the two blooms 22 and 24 are effectively held in positions one relative to the other so that they may not slip and pile up in shipment.

The two sections It and H may be made out of any suitable material including paper pulp molded and dried to shape, papier-mach, or even a pressed fiber board given the shape indicated. Included in the materials just indicated, is the ordinary Wood fiber pulp which may be employed in making the coarser grades of paper or cardboard. Strawboard is equally efiective if given the required thickness so as to resist bending or breaking down.

Obviously the hinge between the two sections l0 and H at the abutting ends [3 and It may be integral with those sections by reducing the thickness thereof to form a hinge line thereby.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the one particular form, it is obvious that structural variations may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to the precise form so described, beyond the limitations which may be imposed by the following claim.

I claim:

A device for holding flower blooms by their stems in spaced apart relation for shipping, comprising a generally cylindrical member open at both ends and split on one side along a longitudinal line thereof and flexibly hinged along a longitudinal line approximately one hundred eighty degrees from said split; a lip outturned from said member on each side of said split line having opposing parallel faces; a strip of resilient cushion material fixed along each of said lip faces; and individual spring clips spaced apart along said lips, each of said clips being generally U-shaped with outturned ends straddling said lips and compressively urging said lips to carry said strips one against the other; whereby the cylinder may be opened by hinging one side back along said hinged line, a bloom placed over the other cylinder side with the flower stem extending across the resilient strip of that other cylinder side, the one side closed over the other side, and said clips engaged over said lips, one clip on each side of the stem.

MERCI-IAN'I' U. MORRIS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 218,090 Underwood July 29, 1879 728,407 Patterson May 19, 1903 1,850,441 Bourn Mar. 22, 1932 1,975,127 Sherman Oct. 22, 1934 2,417,741 Dillon Mar. 18, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 349,699 Great Britain June 1, 1931 

